The University of Windsor plans to proceed with a major renovation of the Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building to meet the future needs of the Faculty of Law, interim president Douglas Kneale has announced.

“We can now move forward decisively to choose an architect who will create a state-of-the-art facility for Law in the 21st century,” Dr. Kneale said. “I am confident that the iconic Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building will be brilliantly transformed to meet the needs of our students, staff, and faculty for decades to come.”

The decision follows uncertainty over a proposal to relocate the law school and its 700 students, staff, and faculty to the Paul Martin Sr. Building in downtown Windsor. Earlier this fall, the provincial government said it was taking funding for the Paul Martin project off the table — as well as funding for many other university-related projects in the province — due to budget pressures.

The University now plans to re-engage the successful proponent of a process to reimagine and renovate the Ianni Building that had been completed earlier this year.

Faculty of Law dean Chris Waters said there were some exciting preliminary design ideas put forward during that selection process.

“I can’t wait for us to get started,” he said. “I look forward to the input and support of students, staff, faculty, and alumni in 2019.”

Toronto-based urbanist and author Shawn Micallef recently said in the Faculty of Law’s 50th anniversary publication that “the Ianni building has nearly 50 years of heritage baked into it but also good bones that allow for change…. Designed with law as a social process in mind, this building can continue as an open and welcoming institution by being brought up to current (standards).”

Pending approval from the University’s Board of Governors, construction could begin as early as the summer of 2019 and completed in time for the start of the fall 2021 semester.

An exhibition of drawings reflects collaboration and experimentation by third-year art students, through Dec. 4 in the SoCA Gallery.

“Last Potluck” — inspired by the New Testament story of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus shared with disciples before his crucifixion — is a class project organized as a gathering where each student contributes an independent point of view about community and sharing.

Dave Steen, who won bronze in decathlon for Canada at the 1988 Seoul Games, is now a firefighter in Windsor.

He spoke to more than 150 students in the class spoke to the students on many topics, from his career and Olympic experience to his life after sport and being parent of an athlete. However, one major theme came through most of the conversation — the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

Steen’s medal in the decathlon was recently brought back into the limelight, as his competitors in Seoul — gold medallist Christian Schenk and his East German teammate and silver medal winner Thorsten Voss — admitted to using steroids in their training.

Still, Steen said he does not feel the need to claim the gold medal.

“The bronze seems appropriate,” he said. “I knew then that they were doping, and I chose not to partake in the same unethical and immoral tactics they chose to pursue. I am at peace with the medal I earned, and I am proud to not have been one of the athletes who cheated to win.”

His message of strength and integrity rang true to Lancer long jumper Ashley Langelier, who noted how hard it must have been for Steen to stay clean, despite knowing many other athletes were using performance-enhancing drugs.

“He has very strong values and it was great to hear that Canada’s best athletes stayed true to being ethical in sport,” she said.

Dr. Loughead said that his direct experience with ethical questions made Steen perfect to address her class.

“Wherever possible, it is important to the students’ learning to hear first-hand accounts of challenges in sport and life,” she said. “Dave’s message was vital to helping these students remain ethical as they move forward in their own career path.”

Loughead has brought in six guest speakers to benefit the students’ learning, including: Steen on doping in sport; Ryan Donally on culture in hockey; Dusty Johnstone on sexual and gender-based violence and sport; Margery Homan on gender issues in sport; and Suzanne McMurphy and Pierre Boulos on ethics in research.

—Ryan Donally

Track and field athletes will compete in the Bob Vigars Classic to open the season, Saturday in London.

The Lancer men’s hockey team will face off against the Western Mustangs in the only varsity game at home this weekend. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.

Basketball is up north to play against the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury on Friday, and the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay on Saturday. The women tip off at 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m. both nights.

Students in Marty Gervais’ editing and publishing practicum course have helped to produce books of poetry, prose, memoir, and stories, but nothing quite like the current project — a collection of images by photojournalist Douglas MacLellan.

Scheduled for release by Black Moss Press in April 2019, In the Face of It will reproduce a selection of MacLellan’s work, from refugee camps in Africa to the streets of Windsor.

Under the guidance of Gervais, the students will edit the content, design the book, and help market it to retailers and consumers.

Two of them, Stephanie Gusain and Julienne Rousseau, will discuss the process with MacLellan in a free public event Friday, Nov. 30. “In the Face of It: a conversation with the photographer” is set for 7 p.m. in the Sho Art, Spirit, and Performance space, located at 628 Monmouth Rd.

Friends and colleagues of Joan Magee are collecting donations to set up an award in memory of the UWindsor faculty retiree, who died in August 2018.

The funds collected will support an award to serve as a tribute acknowledging her contributions to the University and its students. Funds will support students studying in languages, literatures, and culture in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and digitalization of materials in the Leddy Library, where she worked.

Magee joined the University of Windsor as a reference librarian in July 1963, and was promoted in September 1965 to head of the Reference Department, a position she held until her retirement in August 1993. Her research and teaching interests included Scandinavian studies.

All undergraduate students entering the University of Windsor in the Winter 2019 semester will benefit from attending an orientation program just for them on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

The Student Success and Leadership Centre hosts Winter Orientation in the Odette Building starting at 10 a.m. The event will answer questions incoming undergraduate students may have about their transition to UWindsor.

Winter Orientation, will give new students the opportunity to:

Get their UwinCARD student identification;

Sign up for UWindsor webmail accounts;

Learn about UWindsor classroom technology;

Get to know the difference between past educational experiences and UWindsor;

Familiarize themselves with the campus, staff members, and all services available;

Conceptual artist, officer of the Order of Canada, and UWindsor visual arts professor emeritus Iain Baxter& is the focus of a new exhibition titled &Information at the Hales Gallery in London, England, through Dec. 20.

Baxter& holds an honorary doctorate in humanities from the University of Windsor and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His works are exhibited around the world and grace collections including the National Gallery of Canada, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern in London, England; and the Gemeentemuseum in the Hague.

This holiday season, make it a point to indulge… in healthy living, advises the Workplace Wellness E-Digest.

The current edition offers tips on how to enjoy the good times and great food without holiday weight gain.

Published by the Department of Human Resources’ Office of Employee Engagement and Development, the newsletter also reports ways to eat well even when eating out and keep online shopping safe and secure.

Finally, it provides information on a free webinar from the Windsor Essex County Heath Unit entitled “Healthy Holidays: A Last Minute Survival Guide.” Read the Workplace Wellness E-Digest.

The finance department has posted its December payroll schedule to its website.